I've had better days out.

 Freezing overnight and 31f when I left at 4:45 this morning heading for Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and the Jetty.  I made sure I was wearing correct footwear as sheepskin moccasin slippers on those rocks would be whats known as bad. I wasn't in any great hurry as the gate to the car park is not opened until 8am. I got there at 7:50 and they were already open. It was cold and windy, very windy. I obviously didn't heed my own warning. Note to Self I thought I'd only need one pair of gloves, right? I mean it's nearly April. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb. I had on a long sleeved Icebreaker tee shirt, a fleece jacket, an 850 something or other down jacket and a goretex waterproof, wind proof outer layer, a fleece hat but only one light pair of gloves. With my trekking sticks I wouldn't  have looked out of place in the Arctic..... except for my gloves. In the frigid 15-20 mph NW wind my fingers were numb. The waves were splashing on the jetty and the birds were mostly on the other side of the inlet out of the wind. I stayed on the beach side mostly but it was still windy in the lee of the jetty.

Barnegat Jetty looking East

Barnegat Jetty and Lighthouse looking West

Brant Goose

While walking to the beach a pair of Oystercatchers landed on the jetty. I found a few other shorebirds on the beach close to the jetty, a few Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper and Sanderling.

Barnegat Beach

American Oystercatcher

Dunlin

Sanderling

Herring Gull

In the 2 hours I was there I was all alone, probably a good reason not to walk on the jetty. Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and the Jetty is at the very North end of Long Beach Island, at the extreme South End of the island is a part of the Edwin B Forsythe NWR so I thought I'd have a look there. It's long, long way down. It looked very nice but nothing in the way of birds at the moment. 

Southern End of Long Beach Island

Atlantic City in the Background

I popped down the Garden State Parkway to Brigantine but that was pretty grim as well, low tide doesn't help. I've had better days on the NJ Coast.

Black Duck